BUILDING CODES
A series of ordinances enacted by a state or local governmental entity, establishing minimum requirements that must be met in the construction and maintenance of buildings.
Building codes have been used by governmental units for centuries to ensure that buildings remain safe and sanitary. Early settlements in the United States drafted codes for such purposes as restrictions on the use of wooden chimneys to
prevent fire. The early codes were usually only a
few sentences in length, specifying narrow restrictions
in construction.
Today, home and business construction has
become process governed by a complex series of
rules. A building code is usually not one document,
but rather it is usually a series of documents
setting forth requirements for several
aspects of construction, such as gas, mechanics,
electricity, fire-alarm systems, and plumbing.
Building codes generally regulate all aspects of a
construction project, including the structural
design of a building, sanitation facilities, environmental
control, fire prevention, ventilation,
light, materials used for the building, and conservation
measures. State and local governmental
entities are empowered to enact building
codes as part of their POLICE POWERS under the
TENTH AMENDMENT to the federal Constitution.
That amendment has been interpreted to allow
the states to enact legislation designed to protect
public health, welfare, and safety.
The development of modern building codes
began in the early twentieth century. Residents
who lived in tenement houses during that time
began a movement that demanded basic sanitation
in their housing. Insurance companies also
advocated the use of safety standards, due to the
potential limitations on the liability of these
companies. In 1905, the National Board of Fire
Examiners, the predecessor to the American
Insurance Association, approved the first
National Building Code. It was designed to be
used as a model by state and local governmental
units when drafting their own building codes.
This model code proved very popular among
legislators because it provided a respected and
comprehensive source for technical construction
requirements without the burden and
expense of researching and drafting a building
code from scratch.
During the NEW DEAL era of the 1930s, the
federal government sought to modernize the
system of housing in the United States, and the
use of building codes to ensure safety and sanitation
became widespread. Studies during the
late 1960s and early 1970s indicated that the vast
majority of cities had adopted a building code of
some form. As the use of building codes became
more prevalent, the actual codes themselves
became much more comprehensive and complex.
Through the 1970s, the majority of building
codes were enacted at the local level.
A number of model building codes were
developed during the second half of the twentieth
century. By the 1990s, four major building
codes were produced, including the National
Building Code, by the American Insurance Association
(AIA); the Basic/National Building Code
(sometimes called the BOCA Code), by the
Building Officials Conference of America
(BOCA); the Southern Standards Building
Code, by the Southern Building Code Congress
International, Inc. (SBCCI); and the Uniform
Building Code, by the International Congress of
Building Officials (ICBO).Most of these various
organizations were formed during the first half
of the twentieth century by code enforcement
officials who wanted to provide a forum
whereby they could exchange ideas about the
implementation of building codes.
During the past 20 years, roughly half of the
states have enacted legislation providing construction
standards on a statewide basis. The
states that enacted these laws generally have
done so in order to provide uniformity in
building regulations across the state, and also to
ensure that building laws protected all of the
citizens in the state equally. Local governments
have retained much of the responsibility for the
actual implementation of building regulations
in these states. It is not uncommon for a state to
draft statutes that govern buildings on a general
level, while the local units of the state enact
more specific regulations to apply to that locality.
Local building codes often remain uniform
because these local governments typically rely
upon one of the available model building
codes.
The various associations representing code
enforcement officials have formed broader associations
for the purposes of collaboration. In
1972, BOCA, SBCII, and ICBO formed the
Council of American Building Officials
(CABO), which has successfully drafted such
model codes as the CABO One and Two Family
Dwelling Code and the CABO Model Energy
Code. In 1994, the three major model code
organizations formed the International Code
Council (ICC), which has produced several
international model codes. As of 2003, the ICC
had developed more than a dozen international
model codes, including the International Building
Code. The ICC estimates that 46 states, plus
the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and some
federal agencies, enforce or have adopted at least
one of the international codes.
Building codes are directly affected by ongoing
research regarding the performance of products,
materials, or construction methods.
Industry experts develop standards, which are
documents that contain industry consensus
regarding the methods by which the products,
materials, or methods should be designed or
employed.When an organization drafts a model
building code, it typically refers to these standards
in the text of the code. Since the standards are
national in scope, the reference of these standards
ensures that a local building code requires constructors
to meet minimum national standards
concerning details like safety and performance.
Few question that houses and other buildings
are now designed to be much safer and
more sanitary than were buildings constructed a
century or longer ago, primarily as a result of the
implementation of the various building codes
throughout the United States. However, some
commentators have noted that the requirements
of these codes have caused construction prices
to rise steadily, which in turn causes the costs of
housing and other building usage to rise as well.
Moreover, some critics maintain that the process
of developing building codes is often as much of
a process of negotiation between trade groups
who are protecting their own interests as it is a
completely scientific process.
Those who are involved in the drafting and
implementation of building codes counter that
building codes are designed with the health and
safety of the public in mind. Results of testing
performed during the development of standards
are often readily available for inspection, so if
questions of reliability arise, they often can be
answered through a review of these testing procedures.
Moreover, supporters note that state
and local governmental entities are not bound
to adopt the model building codes, and if a governmental
unit disagrees with a provision in a
model code, it is free to replace that provision
with a requirement of its own creation. Accordingly,
if a member of the public disagrees with a
particular requirement, he or she generally may
raise this issue with the appropriate governing
body that decides whether a code or code provision
should be adopted.
FURTHER READINGS
Council of American Building Officials. 1997. An Introduction
to Model Codes. Falls Church,Va.: Council of American
Building Officials.
Kelly, Eric Damian. 1996. “Fair Housing, Good Housing or
Expensive Housing? Are Building Codes Part of the
Problem or Part of the Solution?” John Marshall Law
Review 349.
Turner, Michael D. 2001. “Paradigms, Pigeonholes, and
Precedent: Reflections on Regulatory Control of Residential
Construction.” Whittier Law Review 3.
